


Meant to Be

by parttimefemmefatale (writingramblr)



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/M, Fluff and Angst, One Shot, Parallel Universes, Pete's World, alt!Nine, from tumblr tagfic, human!Nine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-09
Updated: 2014-10-09
Packaged: 2018-02-20 11:04:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2426435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingramblr/pseuds/parttimefemmefatale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Perhaps there’s always a version of him and her, finding their way to one another, across the stars or across the universe.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[from this, i became inspired: the differences are, i made the alt nine a human, and he's simply, as Jackie put it, a doppleganger, it's not the Doctor, but he is a doctor. http://professortennant.tumblr.com/post/40041104140/ ]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meant to Be

**Author's Note:**

> it was weird writing 'doctor' lowercase....

The cold chill of the air conditioning was a relief to Rose; the unusually muggy autumn day had been making her feel like she was choking inside her skin. Then she would cough and set her teeth chattering for a moment.

The few other people in the waiting room glared at her and seemed to shrink away, and Rose rolled her eyes. She wouldn't have even bothered with going in if Jackie hadn't made her go.

Seven months she'd been that way and simply ignored it in favor of making the jumps to find the Doctor.

But the last one had been the hardest.

She'd met a red haired woman who'd not known the Doctor, except she had, in a proper reality.

An alternate reality had formed around her, and the Doctor had died.

Rose was so extremely happy to awaken in her proper world and in a time when she knew the Doctor was alright, alone, but alive, she felt as if she'd been chasing him for ages.

She'd find him soon.

"Rose Tyler?"

Finally her name was called after a near hour of waiting and Rose got to her feet and followed the nurse to another room, and she was told the Doctor would see her soon.

Rose snorted at the irony.

Another hour passed, and Rose was prepared to walk out, when just as she stood, the door clicked and began to swing open.

"Good afternoon miss Tyler, I'm sorry for the wait, it's been a crazy morning."

Rose felt her knees weaken, and the floor suddenly lurched beneath her feet.

That voice.

It was softer, but so distinctive.

Behind the clipboard and clad in a white labcoat was the spitting image of a ghost.

"It's not possible. It’s too ridiculous. This can't be happening."

Rose stepped away from him, and glanced around the room for cameras and hidden windows, two way mirrors or Nanny cams.

"Are you alright? Maybe you should sit down. Says here you've had a bit of a ragged cough for months. You should have come in after the first three weeks. But I'm sure you've heard that already, no doubt from your mother."

Rose's gaze snapped back over to the doctor and she fought a mad urge to laugh.

"Sorry. Been a bit busy."

The man with clear blue eyes, an overlarge nose and ears smiled a familiar grin at her comment,

"Too busy to worry about your own health? I wonder what line of work the Vitex heiress is in lately."

Rose swallowed thickly and sank into the nearest chair.

"You know me?"

The doctor's expression softened,

"Everyone does my dear. I'm sorry if it bothers you. I won't bring it up again. Forgive my manners, I'm Doctor Jonathan Smith, and I'll be taking care of you today. If you'll hop up here I'll take a listen to you breathing. I need to make sure there's not fluid in your lungs."

Rose complied with the doctor’s request, and felt her heart beginning to speed up in her chest.

Jonathan Smith, the man who looked like a younger, gentler version of her first Doctor lifted his stethoscope from around his neck and put it on, carefully placing it above her right lung, inches from where her shirt dipped down and just scant millimeters from her bra.

"Breathe in please."

He asked, and she did so, dragging in air as smoothly as she could, until a cough overtook her, and she began apologizing, but his hand stopped her, a warm weight on her shoulder,

"Cough if you need to."

The metal circle shifted to her back, and his hand guided her to sit up straighter before reminding her to breathe again.

That time he seemed to notice something and he shuffled his feet, pulling back and folding the stethoscope up neatly and setting it aside.

"So what's the scoop?"

Dr Smith grimaced slightly before speaking,

"You've got a mild case of pneumonia, but I can't imagine how you've not noticed a fever or headache, not had any trouble working a million kilometers a minute."

Rose swallowed again, and she shrugged,

"I guess I thought after..."

She paused, thinking of Bad Wolf, the station, and latent memories still a bit hazy,

"I never thought I'd be sick, if I kept running and ate well."

Dr Smith sighed,

"No one's immortal miss Tyler, you need some rest, and I'll prescribe you a strong antibiotic. Please take some time off from work, and relax. Allow yourself to heal."

Rose nodded, and sat patiently, waiting for him to scribble in his notebook and leave her to her thoughts.

But he stayed.

He looked conflicted, but then he spoke,

"Perhaps if you had someone who could check on you, ensure you weren't going completely bonkers from boredom, that would help you?"

He reached into his coat pocket and retrieved a thin card, handing it to her before she could speak.

"I know it's unorthodox but you're not the average patient. After a week of solid rest, give me a call...if you want."

Rose glanced down at the card, her eyes nearly crossing as she focused on the numbers, before looking up to find him gone.

Had he just asked her out?

What was going on?

She left the office in a daze, after checking out and taking the slip with her to pick up her prescription.

***

It wasn’t until Rose had gotten home and seen Jackie’s cheerful face that she finally broke down. Right in the middle of the front entryway, she fell to her knees, and felt her chest shake from coughing and the sobs that wracked through her.

“Oh sweetheart…what happened?”

She didn’t ask, what did you see?

Both Pete and Jackie knew Rose had seen many things, faces in crowds, visited alternate realities where neither of them existed, but she hadn’t told them about her last jump.

“It was him.”

Jackie rubbed her hand over Rose’s back, and she stopped shaking somewhat.

“Who?”

Asking wasn’t completely unnecessary, but she did it anyway.

“The doctor.”

Jackie frowned,

“The Doctor was there?”

Rose hiccuped,

“No, the doctor doctor. He looked just like ‘im. Just like my first Doctor. The one who had the leather jacket, and loved his jumpers.”

Jackie paled,

“No!”

Rose nodded,

“Yep. In the flesh. Could have been his twin. I thought I was bonkers for a mo,’ but then he got closer, and I could smell him. He smelled like cashmere and spice. Not quite leather and time.”

She smiled faintly, and Jackie tightened her hold around her shoulders,

“Well that’s that then. Your Doctor has just got a doppelganger. Just like in that movie. Invasion of the body snatchers.”

“I’m not sure that’s quite right mum. Plus you know what he did? Gave me his card, and told me to call him once I’d rested up for a few days.”

Jackie raised an eyebrow at her,

“Well he’s not quite so daft as your Doctor then is he? Goes after what he wants.”

Rose blushed, and shook her head,

“I don’t think so. Besides, he’s just being good to me because I’m the Vitex heiress. He knew me, knew who I was, even before I spoke.”

“Well you do as he says. Doctor’s orders. Go get some rest. See how you feel in a little while. If you feel alright, give him a call.”

Rose patted her mum’s arm,

“Thanks. I guess it can’t hurt.”

***

Exactly one week later, one phone call made, and Rose found herself on the way to meet the doctor Jonathan Smith at the Globe theater. She’d tried to get off taking a limo, but Jackie insisted, she might as well act the part of heiress all the way.

“Graces and airs remember mum?”

Rose grinned as she left the house, clad in a pink and yellow sundress she’d recently acquired, with ribs that were no longer sore from coughing, and freshly polished black flats.

She could have real leather shoes now, and polished too. That sort of thing still amazed her.

The car came to a stop outside the theater, and Rose climbed out, thanking the driver before closing the door behind her.

She spotted Jonathan easily and he’d not yet seen her, so she took the chance to drink him in.

He wore white washed denims, and a light khaki jacket over a soft white cotton jumper.

Such a contrast to her time lord.

It almost made her heart ache.

His hair was also a little longer than the Doctor’s had been, now that she looked for a longer moment, and it was rather more grey than brown. Stress from work perhaps?

He was still beautiful.

So familiar in so many other ways. She wondered, if she took his hand, would hers still fit perfectly into his palm? If she pulled him in for a hug, would her soft curves meld to his rougher edges?

She pulled her lips into a smile as he caught sight of her, and willed her heart to calm down.

“Hello. How are you feeling?”

He asked her with a calming voice, and she couldn’t help but giggle nervously,

“Are you asking me as your patient or as your date?”

The flicker of surprise that lit across his forehead told her that she may have just tilted the scales in favor of ‘date’ simply for bringing up the word, and then he grinned,

“Both. You look fantastic, so I hope I can assume you’re feeling better.”

Rose swallowed thickly before replying,

“That’s a dangerous thing; you know what they say about assuming…”

He’d said it. The one final link and he’d made the connection without even knowing.

The evening was fast becoming a rabbit hole she might never find her way out of.

***

“We’ve got excellent seats, if you don’t mind heights.”

He chuckled dryly and Rose beamed at him, following his lead as he walked out into the balcony section.

“This looks lovely, thank you.”

Jonathan nodded, and gestured for her to sit down.

“No you go ahead, I don’t mind. In fact I would like to get a picture of the stage, before they dim the lights.”

Rose whipped out her cell phone and pointed it obviously towards the players still mulling about on the wooden platform, but stealthily angled it towards the doctor.

“Here you see, I should have brought us binoculars, we’ll never have the slightest clue what’s going on.”

He glanced back at her over his shoulder, leaning closer and pointing towards the stage with a grimace and he raised his eyebrows at her, just as she pressed the button.

Frozen forever, now she’d have the memory of this night even if she couldn’t keep the perfect calm that he brought her.

She took her seat beside him and felt him reach behind her for something, but leave his arm around her shoulders. It took every ounce of her strength not to lean into his embrace, and by the second act, she’d given in.

She could enjoy this, she could. Tomorrow she’d be back to work, jumping across dimensions and continuing her search, but one night, this night, was hers.

***

…Months later, when the universe has been rescued from the threat of extinction by the creatures known as Daleks, and Rose brings home a Doctor that favors blue and tells her he loves her, she remembers that night.

She remembers the warmth of Jonathan’s arm, the kindness of his words, how he held her hand as she waited for the car to come pick her up, and the softest kiss he gave her on her lips before she got in the car and drove away. She never went to his office again, and he never called her. But she was always grateful that he helped her, he gave her the strength to keep on.

She’d never have known how close she was to finding her Doctor, and now, when she lays in his arms, and feels safe and loved, she wonders where the other doctor is.

She wonders if he thinks of her, and if he’s alright.

Perhaps there’s always a version of him and her, finding their way to one another, across the stars or across the universe.

***

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> [if you like, this has been written to be inclusive in the au canon for "of Wolven Angels" so this can be seen as a direct sequel, where-in Rose has made the jump and met Donna, which she was about to make at the end of 'Of Wolven Angels.'  
> so yeah.]


End file.
